


Teddy Lupin's Birthday Party

by ElectraCute



Series: Stars & Daffodils [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Birthday Party, Family Bonding, Family Reunions, Gen, Quidditch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 13:11:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14895230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectraCute/pseuds/ElectraCute
Summary: The Malfoys are invited to Teddy Lupin's birthday party. Unfortunately for Lucius, they are not the only ones. (Oneshot)





	Teddy Lupin's Birthday Party

**Author's Note:**

> This turned from a lightly humorous Lucius POV to redeemed!Draco fluff but honestly, I have absolutely no regrets.
> 
> This fic is part of my oneshot series "Stars & Daffodils", which follows the three Black sisters in my personal headcanon timeline. If you like this one, make sure to check out the rest of them.

Lucius Malfoy knows that he does not deserve his wife.

He has suspected this on several occasions throughout their marriage, like the moment when he saw her walk down the aisle, or the day she gave birth to their son. But it has become rather clear to him that he is unworthy of a woman like Narcissa after the Battle of Hogwarts.

If he is out of Azkaban right now, he owes it all to her courage and bravery. To look the Dark Lord in the eye and lie to him? Lucius himself would have never even dreamt of it. But his wife, his brilliant wife, became his saving grace. There were a lot of trials after the war, and Potter had been present in those that involved the Malfoys, insisting that they be pardoned - or had they all forgotten how it was thanks to Narcissa Malfoy that he had been able to defeat Voldemort? Therefore, he asked the Ministry to reward her by allowing her to be with her family. The Minister himself agreed; there was no point in perpetuating hatred, after all. Let the Malfoys be pardoned; it is a time for people to rebuild their lives.

This time around, they must get it right. Rather than showing people they have changed, they must actually change. At least that’s what Narcissa says, and Lucius has secretly vowed that he will never doubt her as long as he lives. However, this whole new attitude of acceptance that she is suggesting will take some time to sink in.

The first step his wife has taken towards this direction is reconciling with her estranged sister, Andromeda. Yes, Andromeda, the one who married a mud- _a Muggleborn, Lucius, for Merlin’s sake, is it that hard?_ Andromeda, whose daughter married a _bloody werewolf_ and had a child with him. And now, Lucius is forced to tolerate the presence of a blood-traitor and a werewolf baby inside the house of his ancestors. If his father could see him right now…

But he cannot object to the situation because he sees how good it is for his family. He knows that Narcissa and her sister are helping each other heal from the wounds that the war left behind, and Draco is absolutely taken with the child; he spends hours with young Teddy, reading to him, or playing Quidditch in the garden, or simply letting the boy entertain him by changing his features and doing impressions. It has been a long time since Draco’s laugh has echoed in these halls, and if a werewolf child is what it takes to bring it back, Lucius is willing to allow it.

He is not, however, willing to attend the birthday party of said werewolf child.

“Come on, Lucius, don’t be like that! Teddy said he wants all of his family there!”

“Well then, you and Draco can go. I’m not related to the kid by blood anyway.”

“That’s nonsense! I promised Dromeda we’d be there. Besides, can you imagine how this is going to look to everyone else? How can we convince people that you have reformed when you are behaving like this?” Narcissa knows very well that if there’s anything capable of persuading him, that is the threat of being sent back to Azkaban.

“Merlin, fine! Fine. Just… don’t make me sit there for too long. We’ll go, give him his present, wish him happy birthday, and be on our way.” He silently hopes that half an hour will suffice.

“Not before he blows out his candles, father! And I, for one, would like to have some cake,” says Draco, who is wrapping up Teddy’s birthday present; it is the most recent Firebolt model.

Lucius sighs in exasperation; it is going to be a long night.

They arrive at Andromeda’s house right on time. It is a beautiful cottage with a large garden, where she cultivates all sorts of magical plants; _she had always been skilled at Herbology_ , recalls Lucius with a smile as he remembers the carefree days of their youth, when he and Andromeda Black were classmates and the most outrageous thing she had ever done was setting a devil’s snare upon him. Truth be told, he had deserved it.

Narcissa has the brightest smile when she walks into the house and calls after Teddy.

“Aunt Cissa! You came!” The boy’s face lights up and he runs to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She kisses his forehead and ruffles his hair, which is currently a very vibrant turquoise. “Happy birthday darling!” she says and softly caresses his cheek.

Draco is next. “Happy birthday Teddy,” he says and pulls the child into a hug. “This is your present, I hope you like it.”

Teddy rips apart the wrapping and lifts the broomstick into the air. “GRANNY!” he shouts. “IT’S A FIREBOLT SUPREME!”

“NO FLYING IN THE HOUSE!” yells Andromeda from the kitchen, but Teddy ignores her as he’s now mounting his new broom and taking off, breaking a vase with pink daisies and flying outside through a window.

Andromeda runs into the living room, sweeping her hands on her apron. “Oh no, my daisies!” she laments as she repairs the vase with a flick of her wand and then tries to revive the flowers. “I’m so glad you made it, Cissy,” she says and kisses her sister. “And thank you for the broomstick, Draco dear - but I do wish you would have at least warned me.”

Draco smiles apologetically. “Sorry, Aunt Dromeda.”

“I will accept your apology if you go to the garden and keep an eye on him.” Draco nods and steps outside. “Hello, Lucius! I didn’t think you’d come!” Andromeda shakes his hand, looking surprised.

“I didn’t think I’d come either,” he admits, and Narcissa shoots him a deadly glare.

“Are you expecting a lot of people?” she asks her sister.

“Well, yes, quite a few. Those Weasleys are increasing every day.”

Lucius is horrified; he hopes he has misheard. “Forgive me, Andromeda, but for a moment there it sounded as if you said _Weasleys_.”

“Why yes, I did! They’re all coming, even Charlie! He’s home for the holidays, you see. So that’s seventeen people, and with the five of us, twenty-two. I’ve been in the kitchen all day!”

Narcissa is quick enough to take him to the sofa before he collapses on the floor. “W-Weasleys?” he manages to utter before she pushes a glass of water against his lips.

“If you cause a scene I am going to personally murder you,” she mutters through gritted teeth while forcing him to gulp it down.

“Is everything alright? Do you need something, Lucius?” Andromeda, still occupied with the daisies, is oblivious to his suffering.

“No, dear, Lucius was just a little overwhelmed to hear the number of people who will be attending. Isn’t that right, love?” Lucius nods vigorously.

It doesn’t take long until the rest of the guests floo in, and soon enough the house is a sea of red hair, with some patches of brown and blond here and there, as well as the very distinct messy black head that belongs to the Boy Who Lived. Some of them stare at the Malfoys suspiciously, and Hermione Granger looks particularly uneasy. Potter, however, approaches them with a grin.

“I’m glad to see you here, Mrs. Malfoy,” he says to Narcissa and shakes her hand. “You too, Mr. Malfoy. Has Draco not come?”

“It’s nice to see you too, Harry dear. Draco is in the garden with Teddy.” Lucius wonders when Potter and his wife became this friendly towards one another; probably during his trial, he supposes. He knows he should be grateful to the young man, and so he forces a polite smile.

Molly and Arthur Weasley are the last to appear, and the latter is no more pleased to see Lucius than Lucius is to see him. His wife whispers something in his ear as she squeezes his arm, and Arthur winces. He then rolls his eyes and nods in a defeated manner.

Potter returns with Teddy, and Draco is trailing after them. The boy has new presents to open; a box of magical toy soldiers from Bill and Fleur Weasley, a bowtruckle from Charlie Weasley (much to Andromeda’s dismay), a set of robes from Percy and Audrey Weasley, an enormous bag of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes from George and Angelina Weasley, a book from Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and a Quidditch Starter Kit from Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley.

Arthur and Molly are last. They give Teddy a box and he opens it to reveal a hand-knitted brown teddy bear.

“Press its nose,” suggests Molly. Teddy does, and the teddy bear changes from brown to red. The boy presses the bear’s nose again and it turns green. Once again, and it turns purple.

“Thank you, Nana Molly! It’s perfect!” He gives her a kiss and then proceeds to entertain himself with his brand new teddy bear, pressing its nose repeatedly and changing the colour of his own hair along with it. His new Firebolt lies in the corner, forgotten.

“I cannot believe he left our very prestigious gift aside to play with that monstrosity,” comments Lucius. “Do you still insist that we stay here all night with the army of Weasleys?”

“I believe I have made myself clear,” says Narcissa in a low and stern voice.

“Don’t tell me you enjoy the company of Arthur Weasley and his likes.”

“As a matter of fact, Lucius, I have never in my life had the slightest problem with Arthur Weasley. In fact, you might not know this but his mother was a Black. Arthur and I are third cousins.”

“What?!” He is downright abhorred.

“You married Arthur Weasley’s cousin and there’s nothing you can do about it now.” Narcissa seems to be finding this whole situation rather amusing. Lucius decides to go after Andromeda and ask her if she keeps any alcohol in the house.

There are now five children in the living room, running about and creating a true pandemonium. Draco observes the Weasley toddlers - all of them younger than Teddy - and tries to guess which one is whose; the two strawberry-blond girls must be Bill and Fleur’s, and the curly-haired ginger one is probably Percy’s. There is also a boy with light brown hair and skin the colour of milk chocolate; George and Angelina’s, no doubt.

“Look, Uncle Draco!” says Teddy, waving his new toy. “I’ll call him Teddy the Second!”

Draco pats Teddy’s hair, which is now a bright green to match the bear. “I think that’s a very fitting name, Ted.” He sits down on the floor next to him and reaches for the Quidditch Starter Kit.

“I gave him that,” says Harry behind him. Draco turns his head and looks up.

“We’re trying to make him into a Quidditch player, aren’t we? I got him the Firebolt Supreme.”

“You gave the Firebolt Supreme to a six-year-old?” Draco thinks that Harry will consider him irresponsible, but he quickly sees him break into a huge grin. “You’re cooler than me.”

And they laugh. During their seventh year at Hogwarts, the one after the war, he and Harry Potter mutually decided to end their rivalry, and were rather friendly towards each other at times. Ron had reluctantly followed Harry’s lead, as opposed to Hermione, who generally tried to avoid him as much as possible.

“Hey Draco,” says Ginny, who has just joined them. He waves at her and returns to examining the Quidditch Starter Kit. “You like that? In all honesty, I told Harry to get it because I hoped we’d play a little tonight. I had Hermione bring the broomsticks, you know. They’re in that bag of hers.”

Draco perks up at that. He has always loved Quidditch. “Hey, Teddy,” he says, poking his nephew. The boy looks at him questioningly. “How about we go outside for a little game of Quidditch with your godfather? You can try out your new broom too!”

Teddy claps his little hands in excitement. “I’ll play with Uncle Draco, and you can play with Ginny!” he says to Harry. Ginny has already retrieved the brooms from Hermione, and is standing next to them impatiently, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

Harry is a little hesitant. “I don’t know, Ted, I think your grandma will be bringing in the cake anytime now.”

“Scared, Potter?” says Draco with a devilish grin, and suddenly they are twelve years old again, taunting each other in the hallways at Hogwarts.

Harry picks up his cue and, without missing a beat, he takes his broomstick from Ginny. “You wish.” The sun is close to setting, and they run to the garden before it does. The toddlers run after them, and so do some of the adults.

“We have an audience,” notes Draco.

“Can you blame them? This game features three of the greatest Seekers Hogwarts has ever seen,” says Harry, winking at him.

Soon enough, all four of them are flying above the ground, at a level safe enough for Teddy, who is still learning to control his new broom. Draco enjoys the wind blowing in his hair, the light mist against his face, the way his stomach bounces as he takes a dive or a sharp turn. He laughs loudly when Harry misses the Quaffle that Teddy throws at him, and then he gets hit by a Bludger - thankfully this isn’t the kind used in real Quidditch matches, but rather a children’s edition. The game ends when the sun goes down, and he and Teddy have won by a few points, although he is certain that their rivals let them. They all walk back inside, and cheers erupt from the small company as his Aunt Andromeda is now bringing a large cake with six candles on top. Mrs. Weasley and his mother are helping her with the dishes and cutlery. His father is sitting in the corner, sipping firewhiskey and glancing in contempt at the red-haired figures passing him by.

They sing the birthday song for little Teddy, and the boy blows his candles one by one. He then closes his eyes, secretly making a wish. Draco suddenly feels a surge of emotion coming from a part of his soul that he has locked away after the war; a sting of hatred towards his Aunt Bellatrix, the mad witch who left this precious boy orphaned. He wishes that Teddy’s mother were there to see him turn six. He hopes that the cousin he never met is watching them from wherever it is that heroes go when they die.

Draco likes this new life, even if it makes his father a little bitter. After all, it’s time for him to stop caring about his father’s opinion. He is exactly where he wants to be; in the side of the light, surrounded by his family and his friends - he never thought he’d call these people his friends, but now there is a warm sensation filling up his belly and a wide, genuine smile on his face, and he catches a glimpse of his mother watching him proudly as she helps her sister serve the cake, and he knows what she’s thinking; at last, her son is happy.

And it’s true; at last, Draco Malfoy is happy.

**Author's Note:**

> I have spent more time than appropriate contemplating whether or not Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Malfoy would reconnect after the war. I have eventually reached the personal headcanon that they would. Soon enough, I will be posting a new fic that explains how.
> 
> Please leave me a comment and tell me if you agree, as well as if you liked this oneshot :)


End file.
